This invention pertains, in general to a tendon preparation device employed after the harvest of a tendon graft to prepare the tendon for use in ligament and tendon reconstruction surgery. Ligament and tendon reconstruction sometimes requires the use of an autogenous tendon graft harvested from another part of the body of the patient, or of a cadaver allograft. The hamstring tendons (particularly, the gracilis and semitendinosis) are commonly used during reconstruction of the cruciate ligaments of the knee. The palmaris longus tendon and other smaller tendons of the hand are commonly harvested for tendon reconstruction surgery.
Most harvested tendons have a purely tendinous end where they are inserted into a bony attachment and a muscular end usually coinciding with the origin of the tendon. After a tendon graft is harvested, the muscular end of the tendon has to be stripped of its attached muscle. This procedure sometimes require sharp dissection with a surgical blade that is usually cumbersome and may result in sharp injuries to the surgeon. The tendon graft sometimes may also be accidentally cut resulting in an inadequate tendon length. This stripping step also prolongs the surgeon's operating time, as the step of removing the muscle attachment is tedious.